Star Gate

Chapter 198: Letter of Challenge (III)

“Is he that strong?” his daughter exclaimed. “Five times the usual consumption??”

She knew of her father’s historical feats and the enormous amount of mysterious power he’d exhausted in order to cross over. It was thanks to his backers that he barely made the ascension. He was now a Solar, a powerhouse in his own right, and had founded the Sword Sect.

Yuan Shuo needed five times what her father required! No wonder he’d been unable to ascend.

“Do you think there’s no reason behind his title of Old Demon Yuan?” Hong Yitang laughed. “He calls himself the Five Styles King, which is what others say to his face. In reality, they call him the Beast King! The Less Than Human King! He’s cruel and ruthless—he would’ve died to enemies long ago if he didn’t have some skill to his name! Three of the other six swords that bore the same title as me died in battle against him!”

“Was father less than him as well?” This was the adoration of a daughter toward her father. Under normal circumstances, some casual boasting from Hong Yitang would be the end of it. However, the man thought for a long moment and shook his head.

“Indeed, I was less than him!”

Astonishment crossed the girl’s face. Her father always brimmed with confidence when he spoke of the martial world of the olden days. A lofty pride filled his face and he was dismissive of any martial master from the central region, even if they bore an illustrious reputation now. But he just admitted to his daughter that he did not rival Yuan Shuo. Was this person that terrifying?

“It’s the truth!” laughed Hong Yitang, unbothered by his daughter’s surprise. “It’d be one thing if we were approximately of the same strength or he was just barely stronger than me, but he was far better than me! I’ll let you in on a secret, I never went anywhere he was back in those days, just in case that brought trouble down on my head. He liked to spar with strong people—but often ended up killing opponents when he sparred!

“That’s why I didn’t accept the two letters of challenge that he issued. You wouldn’t be here today if I did.”

“Father, can we watch the fight tomorrow?” Hong Qing’s interest was piqued. On one side was a powerhouse that even her father proclaimed inferiority to. He had just entered Dominator of Thousands, but could beat Solars to death. On the other was the famed Qimei Staff King of the martial world. He’d built a name for himself in the central region after reaching late Solar. It would be so cool to watch the two of them fight!

“That’s just as well, you can get to know more of the world!” Hong Yitang nodded after thinking it over. “You are a Sunderer now, if you cannot break through to Dominator, you should prepare to cross over to the supernatural as a Sunflare. These people have all grasped the aura, particularly Yuan Shuo! It might help you to observe them.”

Older generation martial masters looked down on the supernatural even when they themselves were supernatural. They trained their children in martial dao and had them reach Sunderer first. Only when their offspring continuously failed to comprehend the aura did they consider letting the younger generation absorb mysterious power and cross over to the supernatural world. Progress would not be hindered in this way and Sunderers usually made the direct leap to Sunflare.

Advancing to Dominator was the first choice if it was a possibility. The martial master would try to sense the aura, then opt to cross over to the supernatural if that was out of reach. This was commonly seen not only in Silver Moon, but the central region as well.

The powerhouses dominating the central region were mostly of this ilk. They either had their roots in martial dao or were Heaven Favored. These two types were the thorniest characters in the central region.

......

The news spread all over Rift Canyon before Yuan Shuo arrived. Countless powerhouses hoped to witness a battle between two martial masters so well known that they were household names.

Li Hao’s group arrived when the sky turned pitch dark. A row of tents stood in front of them. While the rest of the group was unfamiliar with the setup, Wang Ming knew it well.

“We’re here, I see familiar faces!” he said excitedly when they were still a distance away.

“Professor Yuan’s here!” someone called out lowly up ahead.

“The people from Silver City have arrived!”

Hao Lianchuan walked out to meet them before they reached the campsite, disregarding how it might reflect on him.

“It’s one thing to be so late,” he grumbled before reaching the group. “It’s another to accept a letter of challenge!”

What in the world?! Accepting a letter of challenge in the Silver Moon martial world meant agreeing to battle. There was room to maneuver only when the letter wasn’t accepted.

Yuan Shuo flicked a glance at the man and ignored him. Li Hao, however, stared dumbly at the director. Indeed, he went completely wooden as Hao Lianchuan looked very different from before. There seemed to be a blazing phoenix scurrying inside him!

What the heck?

The phoenix seemed to be alive and exuded an unparalleled presence of fierceness from Hao Lianchuan’s body. It wasn’t a supernatural presence, but an unspeakable one of power and might!

Hao Lianchuan was talking to Yuan Shuo when he sensed the gaze. He was jolted by surprise when he saw the look in the young man’s eyes. What you looking at me like that for? This kid is as bad as they can get!

He would think that he’d scared the lad if things were as before, but now he would only suspect the boy was cooking up another devious scheme.

Li Hao ducked his head as soon as the director looked over, as if he was afraid. He was more shocked than anything. What was that? Was that... the origin weapon? That was the only possibility that came to mind. Could origin weapons be concealed in the body? Why couldn’t his sword do the same? How convenient it’d be if he could manage the same with Stellaris! He could take it out whenever he wished and not worry about losing it.

And it felt... so incredibly powerful!

There was an extra person between them and the origin weapon was hidden inside Hao Lianchuan’s body, but it still gave Li Hao an overwhelming sense of dominance. It was as if there really was a phoenix waiting to break out of the man.

Li Hao ceased looking at Hao Lianchuan and surveyed the surroundings instead. There were many little moons—all Darkmoons. There were many little suns—Sunflare. There were even a few close to Qiao Feilong’s level—peak Sunflare. The Night Watchers had indeed invested a great deal of resources in this expedition.

Next, he turned his gaze to a very low key woman in the crowd. Standing next to a Darkmoon, she bore undistinguished features and was thirty-some years old. Like the rest of the crowd, she regarded the newcomers with curiosity and happened to meet Li Hao’s gaze.

The young man instantly shifted his eyes away like a shy and timid boy. He snuck glances around him through lowered lids, but inwardly cursed up a storm. Who says there’s only two Solars in the Night Watchers?! Who says Hao Lianchuan is the only one here?! What’s with that woman??

She was a Solar, and a very strong Solar. She was stronger than Qiao Feilong and even a bit stronger than Hao Lianchuan. She might be a mid Solar!

Liar! You’re all liars! Li Hao continued swearing. The intelligence wasn’t accurate at all. Perhaps the woman carried a treasure similar to Li Hao’s mirror, one that hid her presence. No one else seemed to detect her, even his teacher.

She’s hiding herself deep! Can she possibly be an... enemy?

Li Hao’s heart skipped a beat. It was hard to say. Perhaps she was a spy from the three great organizations. Should he tell Hao Lianchuan? But if she was from the Night Watchers, Hao Lianchuan might not know anything. Perhaps Hou Xiaochen was behind this. Would he be accidentally causing trouble if he revealed this to Hao Lianchuan?

And how am I supposed to explain how I know about her when no one else does? A headache troubled Li Hao. Why do I seem to have run into trouble right upon arrival?

......

The woman that Li Hao took note of looked at the young man, then continued assessing Yuan Shuo and the others with the same curiosity as the crowd when nothing untoward presented itself.

She paused briefly when she saw Wang Ming. Sunflare! She knew about Wang Ming, but he’d only been a Fullmoon when he left. He’d crossed over Plenilune in just a few days and entered Sunflare. This kind of speed was unfathomable!

The woman took a few more glances before quickly changing her focus. She cared more about Yuan Shuo and Liu Long’s condition. Liu Long was hard to determine, he seemed to have reached Dominator. As for Yuan Shuo... he was impossible to make out. There was only the faint sense that he seemed to have a fiery temper, that there was fire inside of him!

It felt like a volcano about to erupt! The woman blinked, surprised. As expected, there was no one undeserving of their name when it came to an illustrious reputation! Yuan Shuo was very strong.

The professor glanced sharply at her as she continued her observations. Coldness glinted out of his eyes like light from a sword. He frowned at the woman, then looked at Hao Lianchuan.

“Have your people cease their usage of surveillance arts on me. You won’t be able to handle the consequences if I lose my temper!”

Hao Lianchuan blinked. Was there someone doing that? He looked behind him and didn’t discover anything out of the ordinary.

“Don’t randomly peep at someone!” He frowned all the same. “To do so is very rude, behave!”

He’d issued reminders to everyone beforehand, was someone still probing Yuan Shuo? He hadn’t sensed any supernatural ripples; was old fart Yuan purposefully picking at him? That was also very likely!

Irritation brewed in Hao Lianchuan. I’m just lecturing you with a few words, look at you getting impatient! You use your age and the fact that you set foot into Dominator as an excuse. You really don’t respect me after killing a Solar!

“You’re not allowed to fight tomorrow!” He stormed off after these words. Yuan Shuo wasn’t allowed!

Yuan Shuo flicked a glance at the huffy director and chuckled. “Has Hao Lianchuan forgotten that i’m not actually a Night Watcher?” he muttered to Liu Long.

“......” Liu Long had nothing to say.

Those around them heard the response. Everyone’s expression was tight—some wanted to laugh while others wanted to erupt with anger. The reply even made it to Hao Lianchuan\'s ears. He, too, was resigned, but didn’t bother saying anything else.

Yes, he’d indeed forgotten that the old thing wasn’t one of them, but his student was! I’ll summon your student for a talk tonight and send him back to Silver City if you don’t listen! And truly, Li Hao needed to speak some sense into his teacher. What was he being so eager about going to his death for?